Welcome back for part 2 of the Holiday Traditions Series! If you didn’t read Part 1 yet, click here.

This is one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions because it encourages a spirit of giving and makes the day before break feel like a real Christmas morning! I have all of the details for you below, as well as a FREE parent permission slip for participation in both English and Spanish. You will want to send this to parents ASAP so there is enough notice for everyone to participate!

So, what is this super exciting tradition I am recommending?

Digging into the Details

What is it?

A Secret Santa Gift exchange is an exchange of gifts purchased or made by students for students.

How Does it Work?

• Pick a date when you want to have the “Exchange” and also a date by when gifts must be wrapped and turned in.

  • TIP: I always chose the exchange to be on the day before break. It took up the entire morning and made it feel like a real classroom Christmas morning! There are often other fun school-wide activities planned that day, so it turns into a whole day of fun.

• Send a Parent Permission slip . It’s important to do this step as early as possible, so you can decide whose names should be exchanged. Grab a FREE Parent Permission Slip in English and Spanish right here.

  • In all of my years, I never had a parent say they did not want their child to participate, however, if this does happen, I suggest getting a small gift for that child that they can open or take home (a book would work great!) that way they don’t feel left out and they can still enjoy that classroom Christmas morning exchange. You can also gently ask the parent if they would be okay if you help the child make something for another child so they can participate.

  • I often had children that could not afford a small gift. This is why I include in the parent permission slip that they can make something (and I encouraged it!). Try to give students ideas and provide materials if possible to help them make a gift.

• Draw Names. Once you have all of the permission slips in, make a list of who is participating. To help drawing names go smoothly, try this method:

  • Cut out circle ornaments and give one to each child. Tell them to decorate them with colored pencils and write their name and some of their hobbies, likes (dinosaurs, sports, a show, etc.), and a favorite snack.

  • Create a tree out of green butcher paper and place it in a prominent place in your room (door, empty wall, white board). Note: this is NOT the time to be a Pinterest teacher :) I certainly wasn’t. The kids won’t care about how wonderful and exact the tree measurements are. You can just cut three large triangles (small, medium, large) and stack them on top of each other,

  • Students will place their ornaments on the tree.

  • Place all participating students’ names in a hat. Once they have drawn a student’s name, they will be able to look at the tree and see what they like. This will help them choose a gift. Make sure they do not remove the ornaments (I used to give them out and learned my lesson). By having it in a prominent place, it serves as a good reminder and then they don’t lose who they have.

  • On your sheet of names, record who everyone has.

• Collect the wrapped gifts BEFORE the exchange. This is extremely important because by having them turn them in early, you have time to contact parents if there are missing gifts or buy an extra if needed.

  • Each gift should be wrapped (or you can provide wrapping for those who don’t have it) and labeled with the recipient’s name only, NOT the giver’s name.

• Exchange gifts and enjoy your “Classroom Christmas Morning”! On that morning, I made it as big of a deal as I could. We had hot cocoa, turned on the virtual fireplace and Christmas music and sat in a big circle under the tree. Everyone was so excited. We would open gifts one by one and each recipient had three tries to guess who got them that gift. It was always so fun to see when someone who they didn’t talk to much got them a gift they absolutely loved! So many precious moments and memories were made around that little Christmas tree.

Tip: After everything is opened, take a group picture and send to parents if possible. You can call it the class Christmas card.

Not every child gets to have a winter break filled with safety, love, laughter, giving, and hope. If we can impact just one student and give them that experience, we are doing something right.

If you try this in your classroom this year and want to share how it went, or already practice this tradition and want to share some tips, please comment below!